The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has released its historic Climate Change Policy and Action Plan 2023-26, which outlines a bold set of actions that will assist NSW in reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
According to NSW EPA Chief Executive Officer, Tony Chappel, the plan lays out how the state’s environmental regulator will address the causes and consequences of climate change.
“This plan means for the first time in Australia, there will be a comprehensive approach around emissions reduction pathways,”Chappel said.
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Speaking further, he said, “using our robust framework, we will treat greenhouse gas emissions like any other pollutant that we regulate and by doing so, support the decarbonisation, transformation and growth of the NSW economy”. “In every corner of the state, we are already feeling the very real, costly and devastating impacts of climate change.
He explained that from unprecedented fires through to recent extensive flood events across regional NSW, each of the disasters is a sobering reminder of the escalating consequences of rising greenhouse emissions.
“We must improve our resilience to the impacts of climate change and this plan will see significant work led by the EPA to achieve this,”he said.
He noted that crucial to the success of the plan will be a collaborative, staged and systematic approach to ensure actions are evidence-based and government programs are joined-up, adding that It is also important to allow industry sufficient time to adjust to any sector-based emission reduction targets and enforceable licence limits.
“As we operationalise climate policy across the economy, the EPA will establish advisory groups for various industry sectors to help inform and co-design actions and subsequent targets” he said.
He maintained that the EPA remains committed to supporting industry, business, regulatory partners and the community in transitioning to a more sustainable and prosperous future.
This story was adapted from EPA.
